'Coventry City is not an easy club to manager but Frank Lampard is the man'

Former Coventry City defender Stuart Pearce admits he is pleased to see Frank Lampard back in club management after the Chelsea legend was confirmed as Mark Robins' successor.

Former Derby County, Chelsea and Everton manager Lampard has agreed a two and a half year deal to become the new Sky Blues head coach. And Pearce - who made 52 appearances for the Sky Blues over two seasons - voiced his excitement at the prospect of Lampard returning to club management with the West Midlands side.

“I’m pleased to see Frank back in the game,” said Pearce. “I worked with Frank as a player at West Ham, I was getting on a bit and Frank was coming through as a youngster and the one thing he was when he was a very young age was very level.

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“He understood the game, he had a head way above its weight in years and things haven’t changed over time. He’s bright as a button, he knows the game and for me I’m pleased to see him back in management if that is to be the case.”

Pearce also had rave reviews for the job Robins performed at Coventry, and the former defender insists the ex-Sky Blues boss would be an excellent fit at any club.

He added: “I think only last year or the year before, I voted for Mark Robins as Manager of the Year, I thought he did an incredible job at that club. It’s not an easy club to manage, there’s not a wealth of money available there and these signings have been great.

“They lost a couple of players this summer which has been costly but the one thing you know is that Mark Robins is out there, he’s an outstanding manager and if anyone wants a manager, he certainly would fit the bill to that.”

Pearce was speaking at Shefford Sports Ground, home of Shefford Town and Campton, where he helped launch the FA's 'Greener Game' campaign, a bespoke strategy created in collaboration with E.ON and designed to help the environment by promoting sustainability practices within the grassroots game.

A prime example of the FA's commitment to driving decarbonisation at clubs across the country, Shefford Sports Ground boasts solar panels installed to help reduce the club's energy bills and Pearce reckons such initiatives will only lead to a brighter future for the grassroots game.

He said: “My background was non-league football. I had five and a half years in non-league so these initiatives are very important to me. Anything it can do for the community and for sustainability and a greener world and more importantly for the health of youngsters to take part in a team game is important.

“When I was 16 I left school and I had nowhere to go play football so I got into my local non-league team and that gave me a platform to go into the pro game at the age of 21. It's vitally important that these initiatives are there because without this level of football, you're not going to get the top end of the game either.

“The pyramid system is so vital and if we turn a blind eye to this level and don't put the facilities and funding into this level of football, you're not going to get the top end of the game or the next international. From my local non-league team, I ended up England captain. That's the power of it.”